The exposome: 'an idea whose time has come'

Given the task of measuring all environmental exposures that contribute to an individual's risk of disease – lifestyle, chemical, biological; all changing over time – you might think that it's just too difficult. On the other hand, you could see it as absolutely key to preventing cancer.

Those were the polarised views that greeted Christopher Wild's proposed 'exposome' ten years ago. The concept was inspired by progress in understanding the human genome, and is intended to complement it. Now, with the development of relevant technology in biomarkers, smartphones, and so on, enthusiasm for the idea among the global scientific community is taking off.

Here, Christopher Wild, now Director of International Agency for Research on Cancer, Lyon, France, explains more to Helen Saul